Published: August 15, 2007 12:09 am      

Accused ‘Duct Tape Bandit’ arraigned

Police say Ashland man robbed liquor store

CATLETTSBURG — The man whom police say robbed a local liquor store with his head wrapped in duct tape will find out next week whether the case against him will advance to the next step in the legal process.

Kasey G. Kazee, 24, is scheduled to appear before Boyd District Judge George Davis III for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The purpose of the hearing will be to determine whether there is sufficient evidence against Kazee for the case to be presented to a grand jury.

Kazee, who’s charged with first-degree robbery, was arraigned Monday in district court. Since he is charged with a felony, a not-guilty plea was automatically entered on his behalf.

Kazee also requested an attorney, and the state Department of Public Advocacy was appointed to represent him, according to a deputy in the Boyd Circuit Clerk’s office.

Kazee is charged with committing one of the area’s more bizarre crimes in recent memory.

According to the Ashland Police Department, Kazee entered Shamrock Liquors at 13th Street and Pollard Road with his entire face and head — save for openings for his eyes and mouth — covered with duct tape, and his shirt pulled up over his head in a manner reminiscent of “Cornholio,” the hyperactive alter ego of the character Beavis from the animated series “Beavis and Butthead.”

Kazee allegedly indicated to a female clerk that he had a knife and threatened to harm her if she didn’t give him the money out the cash register. The clerk complied and the robber turned and left.

Before he could make his getaway, though, a Shamrock Liquors employee, Craig Miller, tackled him in the store’s parking lot. Miller and several other men who came running over from the Foodland store next door detained Kazee until the police arrived.

Police didn’t say how much cash Kazee allegedly took from the store, but Manager Bill Steele said the register came up $15 short when he counted it.

Photos of Kazee, taken by police at the scene, show the suspect with his duct tape askew, his lip bloody and his eye swollen. Miller said that Kazee sustained those injuries when his face hit the blacktop after he tackled him.

Although he allegedly told the clerk he was armed, police said no weapon was found on Kazee.

Police also do not believe that Kazee is the same man responsible for three other recent robberies, including two at Ken’s Express Mart on 29th Street.

Kazee is being held in the Boyd County Detention Center under $250,000 bond.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com